Match Twenty-Five – Ipswich 0 – Derby 1
If the biggest crowd at Portman Road for four years had welcomed Charlton, them the cowd for the visit of Derby must be one of the largest at the ground for a televised Championship match, with the exception of an East Anglian Derby.
Sadly though, Ipswich lost after giving away a silly goal and are now down to third place, one point behind Bournemouth and Derby.
Network Rail have decided to play rebuilding the railway again, so despite going to the match in style, I came home in an uncomfortable Class 321 train, with no wi-fi or onboard catering.
I don’t think I’ll be going First again, until normal service is resumed.
It’s funny, but we’ve played two lunchtime matches at home this season and lost both one-nil. The other was against Norwich.
We shouldn’t play any more!
FA Cup Match One – Southampton 1 – Ipswich 1
Ipswich took around 5,000 supporters to Southampton.
And with a bit of luck we might have come away victorious. The BBC said this, when describing Mick McCarthy’s reaction.
“I just said to the lads, ‘well done, it’s the last thing we really wanted’ – but that was tongue-in-cheek.
“I didn’t want to lose, that’s for sure. Why can’t we have a cup run as well? I came down here and watched Arsenal play and Southampton were worthy winners.
It will hopefully be an interesting replay at Portman Road on the 14th.
Walking To St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s Stadium is not ideally placed for the main Southampton Central station, as this Google Earth view shows.
Southampton Central To St. Mary’s Stadium
It took me about twenty minutes and what slows the walk is the initial hill. If I ever go again, I’ll leave a little bit earlier and then have a cup of tea or a drink on the top.
At least St. Mary’s is one of the few grounds, where the Away supporters’ stand is closest to the train station.
But look at this enlarged Google Earth view of the area around the stadium.
Rail Lines By St. Mary’s Stadium
The South Western Main Line from Basingstoke and London comes into this picture at the top to the left of the two gas holders. Note how the lines curve to the west to go through the Southampton Tunnel under the centre of the city. The portal of the tunnel is just at the edge of the picture.
The rail tracks to the left (west) of the stadium are the route to Southampton Docks and the now closed Southampton Terminus station. Before electrification to Southampton in the 1960s, this station was the main one for Southampton and there was also another station at Northam, which was somewhere in the area to the west of the stadium.
Plans have been put forward in recent years to put a station at the stadium and also one on Southampton Waterfront. Some have been grandiose, but the City Council has safeguarded a route from the Waterfront to Romsey, Halterworth and Chandler’s Ford.
If Southampton Football Club stay in the upper reaches of the Premier League and decide to increase the capacity of the ground, I would not be surprised to see a metro link running on the line, with an interchange at say Eastleigh.
The route would also mean that passengers for cruise ships could get closer to the Cruise Terminals by train, just as they used to in the days of RMS Titantic.
Match Twenty-Four – Ipswich 3 – Charlton 0
The biggest crowd at Portman Road for four years welcomed Charlton, who were efficiently dismissed by three goals to nil.
So Ipswich cling to their second position, just one point behind the leaders; Bournemouth.
I do think that Greater Anglia could provide a better service after an evening match.
It had been a very cold night and the match had overrun a bit, so perhaps if the coffee and other drinks had been available later, it might have made the journey home for a lot of fans better.
As it is I went home in an ordinary Class 360, rather than the Mark 3 carriage with an attached buffet car you get on Saturdays.
But at least getting back to the capital afer a midweek evening match is easier from Ipswich, than quite a few places I could name.
Match Twenty-Three – Brentford 2 – Ipswich 4
I’d never been to Brentford for a match before and I suspect it’ll be unlikely again I’ll go to Griffin Park again, unless it’s for the play-offs this year, as Brentford are trying to build a new ground nearby.
A Pub At Each Corner
The picture shows the narrow streets around the ground which is unique in having a pub on each corner.
It’s not much bigger inside either and we had to stand.
Standing At Brentford
At least in a couple of weeks, we’ll be playing Millwall at the Den, which has one of the best Away areas in the country.
As we left the ground, Ipswich were top, but by the end of the day we’d been overtaken by Bournemouth.
I think that Mick McCarthy is going to have an interesting transfer window in January. At least by the end of month given another couple of wins, I would suspect that Ipswich will be safe from any relegation.
A Must-Read For All Ipswich Fans
This interview in the East Anglian Daily Times with Luke Chambers gives a deep insight into the team and its dynamics.
Reading this, I do sometimes wonder that Mick McCarthy’s biggest skill is finding players that will get on with the others.
I think this season, I’ve hardly seen a difference of opinion on the field between players, even when they’ve given away a silly goal or even lost!
I believe that if this spirit stays they might even be able to at least draw at Carrow Road! To many fans a result against Norwich City is more important than promotion.
Is Teddy Bishop Like Ray Wilkins?
Not my idea, but in this report on the BBC, Ipswich legend; Mick Mills compares Teddy Bishop to Ray Wilkins.
“He’s like a quarterback,” Mills told BBC Radio Suffolk.
“He’s so young to be doing that sort of thing. I remember playing with Ray and that is all he would do – never going beyond the ball but always supporting.”
I never saw Wilkins play so I can’t judge Mills’s statement.
However, the build-up to the second goal against Middlesbrough, where Bishop exchanged several close passes with David McGoldrick amongst others, and then the pinpoint curving and teasing cross was exactly what you might have expected from a certain David Beckham in his prime. But then so many of today’s young players have grown up watching Beckham, so how many have decided to follow his example?
One of the most important parts of football is the taking of corners and free-kicks, as properly taken they can lead to a goal and if taken badly they just give the ball away.
This season, Ipswich have improved in this area, with several players now taking corners that have led to quite a few goals. But the biggest surprise was one match, where Bishop was assigned to take the corners. In all my years of watching football, I’ve never seen the baby in a team given that job. Did Beckham and Gerrard take the corners, when they broke through into the first team?
The taking of corners, says that he has already earned that most rare of accolades from his team-mates; trust!
He’s certainly one of the best eighteen-year-olds, who’s come through the youth system at Ipswich.
How far he’ll go only time will tell!
Match Twenty-Two – Ipswich 2 – Middlesbrough 0
At one point, I thought I might miss this match.
But as luck would have it, I was on the 13:00 rather than the 13:30 train out of London, so the delay induced by signalling problems in the Shenfield area only meant I missed the first ten minutes or so of the match.
I’ll put in this quote from the Middlesbrough manager; Aitor Karanka, as it sums up what happened well.
Ipswich wanted it more than us. Murphy was first to the rebound for their first goal, Teddy Bishop at 18 years old was the best player on the pitch and Jay Tabb, at 5ft 5ins, scored with his head.
With a bit of luck, we’d have had a third, but a two-nil victory keeps us near the top of the Championship.
Match Twenty-One – Bolton 0 – Ipswich 0
The Reebok stadium is one of the shortest walks to the ground from the nearest rail station of Horwich Parkway.
Walking To The Reebok Stadium From Horwich Parkway Station
It was a bitterly cold day and I don’t think we saw either team playing at their best, so we got a goalless draw.
Serious Faces And Hats In The Cold
I also think, Ipswich were missing Stephen Hunt’s left-footed delivery from free kicks and corners.
After the match the trains into Manchester gave a superb demonstration of why the line needs to be electrified and the Ordsall Chord built.
One totally inadquate two carriage trained turned up after twenty minutes in the cold. At least it was followed by an eight-carriage one going to Manchester Piccadilly.
Have The Ipswich Players Seen A Future They Might Like?
According to this article in the Daily Mail, the average salary in the Premier League is £43,717 a week.
Ipswich’s team cost just £10,000, which was what Mick McCarthy paid Chippenham Town for the raw talent of Tyrone Mings. But having met several of the players, they don’t seem to fit the stereotype of thick idiots, who can kick a ball a bit.
The players do contain, some players like Daryl Murphy, Jay Tabb, Stephen Hunt and Christophe Berra, who’ve had experience of the top level, but have never really established themselves there.
There are also quite a few players, who are best described as taking a second or even a last chance. Players like Tommy Smith, Paul Anderson, Alex Henshall, Kevin Bru and David McGoldrick could be in this category.
Add in a few competent players from a variety of sources and you get what Mick McCarthy repeatedly calls a great bunch of blokes.
So has someone like the eloquent Murphy, explained to the others that if they can keep this form together and get the team into the Premier League, they all might get at least one year of a good salary, that will set them up for life, if they don’t succumb to the temptations.
You might also credit Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor, who took Wolves into the Premier League and saw it all go wrong! They probably don’t want a thunderstorm to strike twice.
If Mick has a problem, it is what to do in the January transfer window. Does he do a bit of dealing to improve the team, but possibly disrupt the spirit? Or does he just pick up some more injury cover like Noel Hunt from high level discards and basically sit tight?
Whatever is happening, it’ll certainly be an exciting ride to the end of the season.
The Anonymous Widower 